#ZSAlaunch Zero Suicide Alliance Launch, House of Commons, Nov 2017

The Zero Suicide Alliance is a collaborative of NHS trusts, businesses and individuals who are all committed to suicide prevention in the UK and beyond. The alliance is ultimately concerned with improving support for people contemplating suicide by raising awareness of and promoting FREE suicide prevention training which is accessible to all. The aims of this training are to: enable people to identify when someone is presenting with suicidal thoughts/behaviour, to be able to speak out in a supportive manner, and to empower them to signpost the individual to the correct services or support.

Impact and reach

Our first House of Commons launch event brought some unique challenges with it. Tweeting with no wifi and virtual no 4G signal, recording interviews with live music in the background. Despite all that we managed this:

Big thanks to everyone who made #ZSALaunch such a positive Twitter happening!

One Reply to “#ZSAlaunch Zero Suicide Alliance Launch, House of Commons, Nov 2017”

I am a mental health activist, campaigning against benefit cuts. I am often contacted by people who are suicidal because they can’t work due to mental health problems but have been denied benefits or had their benefits cut. All this while mental health services are in meltdown. The reality is that the person may well end up homeless or having to attend a foodbank. They really do face destitution and there is nothing that A&E or the Samaritans can do about that. They may be faced with waiting a year for an appeal or have been sanctioned because, due to their mental health problems, they are unable to conform to the demands of the DWP. Even if they don’t kill themselves at that point, they know they will never feel secure and the suicidal feelings will come back. The government argues that however bad a mental health problem is, few people cannot work due to this and that work can even cure the person but they are delusional about this. I can’t persuade the suicidal person that their problem is temporary because it’s not. Can you give advice on how we can give such people hope if they have severe and enduring mental health problems and can only access care during periods of crisis although the truth is that every day is a crisis for them? Where they must face the reality that they will now always live with financial insecurity or in dire poverty? They speak to me and other mental health activists because they cannot get any long term support and mental health services don’t want to hear about their problems with the DWP. We are now providing suicide prevention services even though many of us also live with mental health problems and feel suicidal. The problem is not temporary so is it just a case of endlessly kicking the can down the road?